“Luxury” means “a state of great comfort and extravagant living”. These days, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to drive a Ferrari or buy a solid gold toilet - small improvements in your home can make all the difference. A 2019 trend in home improvement is to add luxury touches to your home, rather than starting from bare bones. Buying a fancy coffeemaker, re-painting your kitchen cabinets with chalk paint, or even upgrading your furniture can loan a luxury feel to your home.

Home Automation

With advances in technology like Nest and Google Home, you can operate anything in your house with the touch of a button. From advanced security systems to remote operation of utilities, the phone that’s constantly in your pocket will allow you to manage your home from near or far. Want to use alternative energy sources? Charge up your solar panels from afar during a sunny day. Kids home from school and you’re not there yet? Grant them remote entry with a touch of your keypad. You can even set when your dishwasher starts from your iPhone, but you still have to load it - for now.

Natural Light

Increasing amounts of research demonstrates what natural light can do for our homes and our moods. The trend in 2019 is toward bigger and bolder windows, with light fixtures in the less sunny parts of our homes that can create the same ambience. More natural light equals more Vitamin D, which can boost our moods during the cloudiest parts of the year. In addition, sunlight boosts our body’s production of serotonin, known as the ‘happy hormone’. Finally, natural light is beneficial for your sleep/wake cycle – allowing natural light into your home will help your body know when it’s time to be awake and when it’s time for bed.

Open Floor Plans

These days, we’re knocking down the walls and blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor. Main floors are spacious, with kitchens looking into the living rooms on one side and opening up to a patio on the other. Top floors are open too! In addition to being the place that we live and sleep, our homes are the place that we entertain friends and family – it’s much easier to do so with big, open spaces. Especially look for kitchen and dining areas that emulate open air bars and restaurants, with collapsible doors, durable rugs, and patio bars.

Your home is not only a place of rest and relaxation, it is also the place where you express yourself, create, and practice hospitality. Colors have a lot of influence on emotions, psychologically, so your home should reflect the feelings you want to have yourself as well as your family and your guests. Choosing the perfect color scheme for your home can be simple with a few easy guidelines.

Lighting

First, what kind of natural lighting does your home have? This will be dependent on which direction your home faces. North or east facing homes are cooler because there is little direct sunlight. Painting your walls and furnishings with cool colors are likely to make your home feel even chillier. On the other hand, if your home is south or west facing, it is likely that your home is warmer from more direct sunlight. Warm colors can make your home feel oppressive if it is already warmer than typical. For north/east facing homes, we recommend reds, yellows, beiges, or creamy colors. For south/west facing homes, try something in the realm of blues, greens, and grays. Whites are typically neutral, but we would recommend finding some additional colors within the warm/cool palette to supplement.

The Feel

What type of environment do you want to create inside the home? Are you looking for a clean, modern feel or something more organic and welcoming? Depending on what you discovered with the last step, you can work with your personalized style and still stay true to warm or cool colors. For example, if you are more interested in an earthy vibe, say you have a lot of plants, but own a home that is naturally cooler, you could still decorate with warmer earth tones like lighter beiges and supplement with the greens of the plants themselves. Also consider that cooler colors are calming, as warmer colors are energizing and take note of which rooms you want to feel relaxed or stimulated in. Bedrooms and living rooms may be a better fit for a warmer environment. Whereas, bathrooms and kitchens may lean towards a cooler and brighter color to support a fresher, clean feeling.

Add Some Complements

Once you have chosen your dominant color, you can then do some research on what colors are complementary to it. “Highlight” colors are a great idea, if used in moderation. Say your living room is blue/gray, a well-placed gold piece of furniture or piece of art will draw the eye and lighten up the feel. Likewise, if your bedroom is more in a brown/beige palette, consider bringing in a light blue bedspread for a balanced aesthetic. If you struggle with conceptualizing what this means, check out this great article with 2019’s top color trends.

There are many ways to interpret your space, so be sure to tap into your own personal style. The home is the best place for self-expression and with a little help, can represent you as a whole. Whether you base your decision off of your favorite season, a choice piece of art or furniture, or from a Pinterest board, take it step by step and watch as your perfect environment creates itself. If you have any questions, reach out to Bright Star Handyman Service for professional help for your home renovation!

If you’ve been to Floor & Decor lately (or even Home Depot!), you’ve seen the endless options for flooring these days: laminate, wood, bamboo, tile, engineered wood, a million kinds of carpet. How are we supposed to choose? In an effort to help, we’ve rounded up a list of the best flooring for each room in your home…enjoy!

Kitchen & Dining Room

Porcelain tile – A classic look, tile makes it easy to clean up spills and is hard enough to withstand the occasional dropped pan. Larger tiles in your kitchen can make the space look bigger too!

Vinyl – Don’t worry, vinyl flooring has changed a lot since it’s creation in 1958. The new vinyl is attractive, durable, and easy to clean.

Engineered wood – The possibilities are endless these days! A lighter color laid in a unique design will make your kitchen truly unique.

Living and Family Room

Solid wood – Still THE BEST, most classic look. And it comes in so many flavors! Accessorize with a stylish rug or leave it bare.

Engineered Wood – The stuff looks like real wood. Seriously. And it’s a bit more durable than solid wood if you have a high traffic home.

Carpet – Sometimes in these rooms, comfort is king! Cozy movie nights are perfect with a plush carpet and popcorn.

Bathroom and Laundry Room

Porcelain tile – See the reasons above under ‘Kitchen & Dining Room’. Using smaller tiles lends a polished look, and the design possibilities are endless.

Vinyl – Comes in a million colors and really is better these days. You can match your towels, your soap…the world is your oyster.

Engineered Wood – This is a recent trend in bathrooms, and we love it! So durable and moisture-resistant.

Bedroom

Hardwood – We love hardwood in bedrooms – so classy. Make the flooring pop with a throw rug or a faux cowskin.

Are you tired of the same-old, same-old in your home? There are lots of ways to update a home, but sometimes our wallets won’t allow us to build our perfect home at this very second. We have some suggestions for home repairs that may get you a few steps closer to living in your perfect space without breaking the bank. Here are 10 home repair services for less than $500:

Seal the Deal in the Bathroom

Does your bathroom look dirty regardless of how many times you’ve scrubbed the tub & tiles? One cost-effective way to give your bathroom a new, fresh feel is to replace the grout between the tiles. Over time, tile grout can start to discolor and chip away regardless of how clean you keep it. It’s normal wear and tear for a bathroom, but it can make your bathroom feel older than it is. Sometimes, deteriorating grout can even make the surrounding tiles come loose if water gets behind them. The caulking around your bathroom fixtures may also need a little help. Caulk is the sealing around your sink, bathtub, toilet, and bathroom hardware that prevents water leaking into your walls and flooring. Both grout and caulk can wear down over time and allow leaks, which will cost you more to replace in the long run.

Upgrade Your Porcelain Throne

If your toilet is constantly breaking the chain or isn’t doing it’s job with water pressure, it may be time to upgrade! Newer appliances, like toilets, are more energy and resource efficient than ever before. While making an upgrade like an energy efficient toilet or low-pressure shower head will cost you money up front, you may benefit from lower bills on the backend. You can be more water-conscious and have a shiny new toilet that can shift the look of the whole room!

Revamp Your Interior Walls

If you’re bored with your plainly painted living room or kitchen walls, you have some options without breaking the bank! There is one big way to completely change the dimensions of your walls: wainscoting. While this might sound like an old English term, wainscoting is a wall covering that has become increasingly popular in the last few years. More specifically, it is vertical, painted wood panels that cover the bottom half of a wall, typically horizontally lined with a wood molding at the top to separate the panels from the drywall. This is a great way to diversify the look of your walls and potentially cover any minor damage the lower half of your walls may have sustained from your kids or pets! Price will depend on the size of the room but can be an affordable DIY project or reach out to us for our home repair services!

Shiplap Installation

Many people who are avid watchers of HGTV have seen and heard about shiplap quite frequently in home redesign. But why? Shiplap has been commonly known as siding on the exterior of your home, but has recently gained popularity for interior home remodeling. Shiplap, as opposed to wainscoting, is horizontal wood paneling that lines the walls, with the top panel laying slightly over the panel beneath, like a roof tile but thicker & longer. Originally used to support proper rain flow down the side of a house, many have turned it into a feature wall within their home! It’s a beautiful way to bring unique texture into a room. Cost varies depending on the size of the room, but some shiplap panels can be found for as little as $1 per foot of board!

Line a Room with Crown Molding

Crown molding is the decorative line that runs around the crease where your wall and ceiling meet. While older homes typically have crown molding, many newer or renovated homes can come a little more bare. Molding comes in a number of materials, shapes, and sizes and cost can vary depending on which you choose. A simple crown molding installation can make your living room, dining room, or bedroom look even more elegant without breaking the bank. It softens the hard corners of the room while adding a classy, finished look. They can typically be painted any color and come in a variety of shapes. Some are more standard, while more expensive options like plaster can offer large, intricately detailed custom molds like an early 1900’s Victorian home. While some people choose to do this themselves, we recommend our home repair services to give you a hand!

It’s All in the Lighting

One cost effective way to make changes to several rooms at once is to update your lighting. Replacing old light fixtures can not only bring more light in to your home, it can affect the entire feel of the room. An older light fixture could be dating your home 20 years without you even realizing it! Not to mention, changing the fixture and converting to LED light bulbs could help reduce the amount of electricity your home uses on an annual basis. If your overhead light fixture isn’t bright enough, look into investing in a floor lamp to add more light. Want to see the difference lighting can make in your home before making the purchase? Take one of your lamps and move it to another spot in the room, and see how the dynamic in the room changes from just this one step!

Paint the Town Red

Painting your kitchen, living room, bathroom, or bedroom can drastically change the feel of the room. While it takes a little bit more preparation to move and cover your furniture, sometimes a new coat of paint will have your home looking like a brand new place! If you don’t want to paint your walls, take a look at your cabinets and baseboards and see if they need a new color or coat of paint. Typically, it’s best to sand down the old paint to get the new coat to go on smoothly and last longer. One word of caution, sample your paint before you decide to make touch-ups on your walls or trim. It can be difficult to match paint colors exactly (usually in older homes with discontinued paint colors), so work with someone to make sure your touch-up paint matches exactly, or get ready to repaint everything!

Picture Perfect Windows

Blinds and curtains are typically under siege in homes with kids and pets, but can also wear down and break on their own over time. One way to update the look of your home is to install new blinds and curtains. While cost depending on how many windows you have and how fancy you want your blinds, it can be a great way to make your home look even nicer! If blinds are out of the question, take a good look at your curtains. Curtains are great to reduce the hard lines that windows and their frames can create in a room. Looking for more light? Blinds and sheers are a great option. Wanting to limit light in the bedroom, heavier drapes can help cut out excess light.

Save the Stairs

If you have pets, an older home, or a high-traffic area in your home, your floors may be showing you that it’s time to do something. Installing a floor runner up your stairs or in a hallway is a great way to hide the wear and tear on your floors. Carpet prices vary but there are several affordable options. If you choose a full runner for the stairs, be sure to secure it so it does not slide when you walk on it. There are also individual carpet pieces that use adhesive to stick to each individual stair. If you think you need to replace the stairs altogether, reach out to us about our home repair services!

Scrub Away

If you’re not sure you’re ready to replace anything in your home yet, maybe a good thorough cleaning will have you loving your same old space! Some homeowners that are trying to sell can change their minds about their home after deep cleaning and repairing their home. If you’ve never cleaned your light fixtures or repolished your wood floors, this might be a good place to start! It could be more time-intensive on your side, but might just be what you’re looking for in a home repair!

Regardless of what you’re looking for in a home beautification, feel free to reach out to us at Bright Star Handyman Service to learn more about our home repair services. We’re happy to help to create your dream home!

As the year comes to a close we are immensely grateful for this past year! We’ve helped so many of you create the home of your dreams and we couldn’t be happier about it. You’ve placed your trust in us to redesign your outdoor spaces with new decks for the summer and new gutters when the leaves fall. We’ve had the most fun transforming your houses into family-friendly, pet-loving homes. Our goal is to give you the warmest, fuzziest feelings when you think about being at home over the holidays.

If you want to see some of our projects this year, check out our gallery page to see how some small home renovations can make a big difference! If you are on Facebook, we frequently update our followers on availability and completion of our latest projects. Follow us to stay in the loop for all of our Philadelphia, South Jersey, and Fishtown remodels and renovations.

If you find yourself a little too crowded in your space with friends and family this holiday season, we invite you to reach out to us for a free consultation on how we can help you achieve the home of your dreams. Whether you’re looking for a renovation to bring more entertaining space to the living room, or remodeling to open up your kitchen to optimize your space, we’re happy to help. We can help add green, energy-efficient appliances and updates, remove your carpet and replace with hardwood, or convert your basement into a livable space!

No job is too small for our team! Let us help you achieve your dreams this holiday season.

We wish you a happy holiday!We wish you a happy holiday!We wish you a happy holiday!And a happy new year!

There’s nothing like trying to get something done in an unorganized home. It may seem like there are 50,000 projects to do and you have no idea where to start. Sometimes, a major overhaul isn’t necessary, if you can optimize your space in a way that fits you. Here are 5 Ways to Add Storage into Your Home:

Elevate Your Bed

One easy way to create more space in a bedroom is to upgrade to a bed with storage underneath. With the current trend of functionality in home furniture, there are several styles of bed frame with built-in storage that can include cubbies, drawers, or cabinets. A simple way to create more space without purchasing a brand new bed frame is to raise the bed. Many bed frames have a low clearance to the ground, which will not allow for larger storage bins to fit underneath. There are blocks that can be placed under the feet of the bed to add a small 3-4in lift that allows more space underneath. Using a bedskirt can also help hide under the bed storage.

Bookshelves & Cubbies

When you compare a small table to a bookshelf, the surface areas to hold things is typically greater for a bookshelf than a table because of the various levels. If you’re looking for a way to create an organization system for the whole family, get a three-tiered shelf. The bottom shelf is for the kids, and can include baskets for easy organization, the middle shelf is shared family space, the top shelf is for mom & dad. To double up the shelf space in one area, a second the tiered shelf can me mounted on the wall with adjustable bracket hanging tracks.

Hanging Wall Hooks and Fixtures

It’s helpful to move storage off of the floor and countertops and on to the wall for an even higher level of organization. Hanging small baskets in the kitchens and bedrooms can offer a home for keys, mail, pets supplies, and small knick-knacks to provide more countertop space. Hanging hats and long jewelry on the wall in the bedroom or bathroom will help with organization and get your favorite pieces out in front of you to wear more often than tucked away in a drawer.

Optimizing Bathroom Space

There are several relatively easy installations that can accommodate an overcrowded bathroom. Installing an under-the-sink cabinet will offer a tall, hidden space. If you’re still needing more space, mounting a cabinet or series of shelves over the toilet or towel rack can also increase surface area. If you have open shelves, small baskets or organizers can help keep the area looking neat and clean.

Over the Door Organizers

Do not underestimate the space and freedom an over-the-door organizer can offer. Whether you prefer to use a multi-hook hanger or a full-length shoe organizer, you will be surprised how much stuff the back of a door can hold. This is a great place to store shoes, scarves, jewelry, purses, backpacks, jackets, etc.